Machine for separating, counting, delivering, wrapping, and addressing sheet material



Oct. 11, 1938. o. E. WOLFF 2,133,261

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING,

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1937 13Sheets-Sheet 1 F/GJ.

INVENTOR ATTORN EY Oct. 11, 1938. o. E WOLFF 2,133,261

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING,

COUNTING, DELIVERING, WRAPPING, AND ADDRES G SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug.1957 l3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ?7 gZ./Z. 2Z6

gf 244 267 e66 zzr/za I sz 7 n? 76 75 Illa W\ INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 11,1938. o. E. WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING.WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1937 15Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1938. o. E. WOLFF 33, 61

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING', COUNTING, DELIVERING, WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSINGSHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 4 f INYENTOR'"ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1938. o. E. WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING,DELIVERING,

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1957 13Sheets-Sheet 5 q mi 353 ATTORN EY Oct. 11, 1938.

O. Ev WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING.

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1937 13Sheets-Sheet 6 Fla. /7

INVENTOR O. E. WOLFF' MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING. DELIVERING,

Oct. 11, 1938.

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET. MATERIAL 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 INYENTORFiled Aug. 16, 1937 ATTORNEY vOct. 11, 1938. O E, WQLFF 2,133,261

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING, WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSINGSHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1937 15 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTQ ATTORNEYOct. 11,, 1938.

O. E WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING,

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1937 l3Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR ATTORNEY INVENTOR ATTORNEY o. E. WOLFF MACHINEFOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING, WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEETMATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1957 Oct. 11, 1938.

Oct. 11, 1938.

O. E. WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, WRAPPING. AND ADDRESSINGSHEET Filed Aug. 16, 1957 2,133,261 DELIVERING, MATERIAL l3 Sheets-Sheet11 ATTO R N EY .Oct. 11, 1938. o. E. WOLFF MACHINE FOR SEPARATING,COUNTING, DELIVERING,

WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEET MATERIAL l3 Sheets-Sheet 12 Filed Aug.16, 1937 BDDDDI nnnzunun N NKM ATTORNEY Oct. 11, O. E. WOLFF' MACHINEFOR SEPARATING, COUNTING, DELIVERING WRAPPING, AND ADDRESSING SHEETMATERIAL Filed Aug. 16, 1957 13 Sheets-Sheet 13 INVENTOR ATTO RN EYPatented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES MACHINE FOB SEPABATING, COUNTING,

G, WRAPPING, AND ADDRESS- TRIAL DEIJVERIN ING SHEET MA Otto EdwardWolil, Arlington, Masa, a-ignor to Paul 8. Bauer, Belmont, Lhasa trusteeoi. the

B. 8. Bauer Trust Application August 1c, 1937, sci-m No. 159,332

The present invention relates to means for handling sheet material, andmore particularly to such sheet material as newspapers and periodicals.

As newspapers, for example, are delivered from the press, they arecollected into bundles containing the proper number to be forwarded tothe various newsdealers, and the bundles are then usually wrapped inpre-addressed wrappers.

These operations have heretofore been performed or stacking of apredetermined number of the :5 objects to be shipped.

- A further object is to vary the said predetermined number.

A further object is to provide a novel addressing-and-selecting devicearranged to place autoso matically on the wrapper or container the name,

address and such other insignia as may be desired, such as the number ofobjects contained in that wrapper.

Still another object is to provide a coimter in 35 conjunction with theselecting device, so as to register the total number of objects passingthrough the machine.

Anotherobject is to provide a novel mechanism for accumulating a stackof sheets from below 40 the stack.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter, and will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be explained in con- 45 nection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal verticalsection of a machine embodying the present invention in its preferredform; Fig. 2 is a similar vertical section, taken upon the line 2-2 ofFig. 3, looking so in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a plan ofthe left-hand side of the machine shown in Fig.

2; Fig. 4'is an enlarged section taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a section taken uponthe .55 line 55 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig.5a is a corresponding end view. looking toward the left in Fig. 4; Fig.6 is a vertical section, taken upon the line 66 of Fig. 1 or Fig. 8,looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 7 is a vertical section,taken upon the line ii 1-! oi Fig. 6, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 8 is a vertical section, taken upon the line 8-8 of Fig. 6,looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 9 is a vertical section,taken upon the line 3-9 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 10 is a vertical section, taken upon the line Ill-ill ofFig. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 11 is a horizontalsection, underneath the mechanism, taken upon the line li--ll of Fig.13, looking upward in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 12 is a section,taken upon the line I2l2 of Fig. 10, looking toward the left; Fig. 13 isa similar section, looking toward the right; Fig. 14 is a digrammaticview corresponding to Fig. 13, but upon a small scale; Figs. 15 to 21,inclusive, are similar views, showing the parts in difierent positions;Fig. 22 is a fragmentary elevation of the upper right-hand, or thedischarge, portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 23 is a similarview, showing the stack of sheets as it is being released; Fig. 24 is avertical section taken upon the line "-24 of Fig. 22, looking in thedirection of the arrows; Fig. 25 is a wiring diagram with the parts ofthe machine positioned in their approximate locations on the machine:Fig. 26 is an exploded perspective, upon a larger scale, of parts of themechanism shown at the right of Fig. 6; Fig. 2'7 is a section similar toFig. 1 of a modification in which the sheets are stacked from aboveinstead of from below; Fig. 28 is an end view of theselector-and-address mechanism embodied in the modification of Fig. 27;Fig. 29 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 2, but on a larger scale,the section being taken upon the line 29-29 of Fig. 28. looking in thedirection of thearrows; Fig. 30 is a vertical section of a modifiedselector mechanism, taken upon the line 30-30 of Fig. 31, looking to theleft, in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 31 is a vertical sectiontaken upon the line 3l--3l of Fig. 30, looking in the direction of thearrows; Fig. 32 is a corresponding end view, looking from the right ofFig. 31; Fig. 33 is a plan of a modified address plate; Fig. 34 is avertical section taken upon the line 34-44 oi Fig. 29, but upon a largerscale, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 35 is a verticalsection taken upon the line 35-35 of Fig. 34, looking in the directionof the arrows; Fig. 36 is a detail view 91- the mechanism shown in Fig.35, but upon a u larger scale; Fig. 3'7 is a horizontal section takenupon the line 31-81 of Fig. 29, but upon a larger scale, lookingdownward in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 38 is a circuit diagram ofthe modified selector; and Fig. 39 is a section taken upon the line39-39 of Fig. 31, looking to the right, in the direction of the arrows.

A plurality of newspapers 2 are shown in Fig. lin lapped relation, uponinclined conveyor belts 4 by which they are delivered into a hopper 6,where they become temporarily stacked. The right-hand ends (as shown inFig. 1) of the inclined conveyor belts 4 may be disposed adjacent to anewspaper press (not shown), or a stack of newspapers (not shown),another conveyor (not shown), or any other source of supply ofnewspapers. Though the machine is shown in connection with newspapers,preferably fed with one of the folded edges 1 forward, it will beunderstood that other sheet material, such as magaarms and otherperiodicals, may also be treated in this machine, or parts thereof; andthe terms newspaper, sheet and the like will, therefore, to avoidcircumlocution of language, be often employed in the specification andthe claims, in this generic sense, except where the context or the stateof the art requires otherwise.

Referring, first, to the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 26, theleft-hand end of the conveyor belts 4 are shown in Fig. 1 disposed atthe righthand end of the bottom of the hopper 6. As the first newspaper2 is delivered by the conveyor belts 4 into the hopper 6, therefore, itis carried by horizontally disposed, continuously traveling belts 8, atthe bottom of the hopper 6, forward, or toward the left, as viewed inFigs. 1, 2 and 8. The second newspaper 2 is similarly carried forward,to the left, on top of the first newspaper 2. The third newspaper 2 issimilarly carried forward, to the left, on top of the second newspaper,and so on.

The forward, or left-hand (as viewed in the said Figs. 1, 2 and 8) endsof those newspapers 2 that are disposed above the lowermost newspaper ornewspapers soon engage a vertically disposed, shield wall Ill thatprevents their further progress. The newspapers 2 thus becomeaccumulated in the hopper 6, each on top of its next-lower neighbor, inthe form of a stack, the weight of which serves to press the lowermostnewspaper 2 against the said horizontally disposed belts 8, at thebottom of the hopper 6.

It is desirable that the pressure of the newspapers against the conveyorbelts 8 caused by their own weight be not too great; particularly as itis desired to lift this stack from time to time, as will be explainedmore fully hereinafter. To relieve the pressure, therefore, only part ofthe newspapers in the hopper 6, above a predetermined height, arepermitted to exert their full weight upon the newspapers beneath. Thisresult may be effected in any desired way. According to the illustratedembodiment, the left-hand end l2 (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 8) of a wallI4 is disposed near the upper end, of the vertically disposed, shieldwall ll), at a point a little higher than the lowest point of theinclined conveyor belts 4. The wall I4 is shown inclining toward theright, substantially parallel, and oppositely disposed, to the saidinclined conveyor belts 4. Above the point l2, therefore, the newspaperswill become collected in the hopper 6 in an inclined stack between thewall M of the hopper 6 and the inclined belts 4.

The lower terminal portion of the vertically disposed, shield wall I!)terminates in a finger I6, disposed very close to the horizontallydisposed conveyor belts 8, but raised slightly thereabove, so as toprovide a space through which the conveyor belts 8 may feed thelowermost newspaper 2 out of the hopper 6, into the space outside, tothe left of the hopper, as shown in Fig. 1. The finger l6 may beconstituted of an integral portion of the vertically disposed shieldwall Ill, extending continuously downward, and bent or inclined smoothlyforward in the direction of travel of the conveyor belts 8. The shieldwall It] is vertically adjustable to regulate the said space between thefinger l6 and the belt 8. It is usually preferred to have only onenewspaper at a time pass under the extremity l8 of the finger ii. Toeffect this result, the space near the belt conveyor 8, under-theextremity I8 of the finger l6, should beadjusted so as to be less thanthe thickness of two newspapers, so that the second newspaper from thebottom shall be caught by the sloping, inner wall of the inclined fingerl6,.as illustrated'more particularly in Fig. 1. If desired, of course,the position of the finger l6 may be adjusted high enough so as topermit morethan one paper to pass its extremity l8, particularly whereit is desired to feed the papers overlapped. The belts 8 and theprojecting finger I6 of the shield ID, or either of them, aresufficiently flexible to accommodate themselves to the papers 2 as thesepapers are carried between them.

The adjustability of the finger Hi to control the separate feeding ofthe papers passing thereunder, or their number so passing, may beeffected in any desired manner. As illustrated more particularly inFigs. 1 and 8, the preferred mechanism for adjusting the position of thefinger l6 comprises two eccentrics 20 disposed between two pairs of lugs22 and 24 that extend horizontally out from the vertically. disposed,shield wall II), at the extreme ends thereof, though they may extendthroughout the length of the shield. The eccentrics 20 are pivoted abouta shaft 25 to which is fastened an adjusting handle 26 that ispositioned outside the side frame I85 of the machine. By turning thehandle 26, therefore, about the axis of the shaft 25, the eccentrics 20will be caused to turn, engaging the lugs 22 and 24, and thus raisingand lowering the vertically disposed shield wall I!) and the finger l6at its lower end. The shield wall I!) will be guided in such verticalmovement by ways 29 in the side frames I65 and I6! of the machine. Theeccentric 28 may be maintained in adjusted position by means of aspring-pressed pin 28 on the handle 26. that may be caused to enter anyof a plurality of index openings 30 (Fig. 8) disposed for differentsettings of the shield l0, along a circular are about the axis of theshaft 25. The shield ill need not, of course, be a continuous wall; itmay be replaced by suitably arranged fingers or guides.

The newspaper or newspapers are passed out of the hopper 6, under thefinger l6, by the same conveyor belts 8 before described; and to thisend, they extend forward, to the left of the vertically disposed shieldwall ill, a considerable distance beyond the confines of the hopper 6.Because of the higher coefficient of friction between newspaper stockand the material of which the belts 8 are constituted, than between thenewspapers 2 34, the former adjacent to the lower end of the inclinedconveyor belts 4, at the right-hand end of the hopper 6, and the latterfar to the left of the hopper 6. They pass also over an idler roll 33,shown just to the right of the shield 48. The number of belts 8 passingover the pulleys 32 and 34 maybe four, with spaces between them throughwhich are visible the hereinafter-mentioned table supports I46. Theright-hand pulley 32 is provided with a plurality of projections 35 foragitating the rear ends of the papers 2 in the hopper 6, as it revolves,thus eliminating the tendency of the papers 2 sticking together in thehopper 6, and also tending to drive the lowest paper 2 to the left,toward the shield Ill. The agitator 35 need not, however, be attached toone of the conveyor pulleys, since it may be separately driven.

If more than one paper (or the desired other number of papers) shouldtend to feed past the shield ill, they will become separated by aseparating roll 38 under which the belts 8 pass at an intermediatepoint, a little to the left of the finger l6. This is effected byflexibly pressing the separating roll 38 against the belts 8 and anidler roll 36 under the belts 8. The advancing, forward end of eachnewspaper, just after the paper travels out of the hopper 6, is thuspressed between the spring-pressed roll 38 and the roll 36 and the belts8, and the newspaper continues to be so engaged as it continues itsforward travel, to the left. The sheets thus travel between the conveyor8 and the roll 36 below and the roll 38 above, as they leave the hopper.By operating the separating roll 38 in the same direction as thedirection of travel of the belts 8, but at a surface speed lower thanthe speed of travel of the feed belts 8, and by suitably adjusting thepressure of its spring 46, the papers will become slowed down anddragged back, effecting their separation, and ensuring that the frontedge of any particular paper 2 shall be behind the front edge of thenext preceding paper 2 a sufl'icient distance to permit separatecounting of the papers by a counting finger 44 or counting fingers 44and 46, as hereinafter explained. They may be entirely separated fromeach other, with a space 42 between each two newspapers 2, asillustrated in Fig. l, or they may become overlapped, depending upon theadjustment and the drive.

If the papers 2 were all of equal thickness, and if there were noirregularities or other sources of like error, and particularly if thepapers 2 were not overlapped, one counting finger 44 would ordinarilysuflice. In the illustrated machine, the counting fingers 44 and 46 arenot laterally separated, in a direction at right angles to the line offeed, but are substantially exactly alined with each other in the lineof feed, between two adjacent belts 8.

If the shield l itself operates effectively to separate the papers 2,the roll 38 may either run idly, or it may be driven at the same speedas the feed belts 8. In that event, as the sheets at the bottom of thehopper 6 are separated from the stack and carried by the conveyor belts8 through the space under the inclined finger l6 of the shield ill, theroll 38 will merely hold the paper 2 under it against the belts 8 andthe roll 36 to insure its-being drawn out. A deflector or guide plate(not shown) may be used to prevent the upper sheets, if overlapped, frombecoming lifted by the roll 38.

When the newspapers 2 have an extraordinary tendency to stick together,as when under the influence of static electricity, theymay be separatedby the use of horizontally disposed belts or a series of rolls (notshown), as explained in a copending application, Serial No. 43,928,,filed October 7, 1935, of which the present application is acontinuation-in-part.

After the papers have thus been caused to travel from the conveyor belts4 into the hopper 6, and from the hopper 6 between the rolls 36 and 33,they are next counted. To this end, the counting finger 44 isillustrated in Fig. 1, above the lefthand portion of the belts 8, and tothe left of the roll 38. As the newspaper 2 advances from between therolls 36 and 38in Fig. 1, its forward, folded edge I engages thiscounting finger 44. As soon as the paper has traveled beyond theposition occupied by the counting finger 44, it falls into the space 42between the successive papers 2. Each raising and lowering of thecounting finger 44 will result in registering a count, as will behereinafter explained, to indi- 'cate that another newspaper 2 has beenconveyed by the conveyor belts 8 from the hopper 6 to outside thehopper. A similar operation takes place when the'sheets traveling underthe counting finger 44 are overlapped, as before described; though thereis no space 42 into which the counting finger 44 may drop, there is adifference in height between different parts of the overlapped papersthat produces the same raising and lowering of the counting finger 44.The additional counting finger 46, spaced from the counting finger 44 inthe line of 'feed, may, however, be employed, particularly withoverlapped newspapers, the operation of one counting finger followingupon the operation of the other. When the additional counting finger 46is employed, it operates, like the counting finger 44, to engage thesheets that travel under it; but the count is registered in response tothe differential, up-and-down movement of both counting fingers 44 and46 together, and not in response to the movement of one counting fingeronly, as is explained in the said application, thus effecting a moreaccurate control of the counter mechanism.

The belt conveyor 8, the shield wall III, the separating member 38, andthe counting fingers 44 and 46, are disposed at the bottom of themachine,

the newspapers 2 traveling therethrough from right to left, as viewed inFig. 1. The papers 2 are then transferred to the upper portion of themachine by means of vertically disposed, continuously traveling, lift,conveyor belts 60 and 62. The conveyors 8 and 68 may, of course, be inthe form of a single conveyor. After the papers 2 have been thus raisedby the belts 68 and 62, they are again carried through the machine, butfrom left to right. This enables lapped papers to be in the correctposition to be stacked from beneath. The forward edges 1 of thenewspapers are practically parallel at all times, the papers 2 being fedquite regularly in this machine.

The conveyor belts 68 pass over two large pulleys 64 and 66 and asmaller pulley 68. The pulley 66 is disposed vertically above the pulley64. The conveyor belts 62 pass over three pulleys I6, 12 and 14. Thelower surface of the pulley 64 is disposed substantially on the samelevel as the upper reach of the conveyor belts 8, and the pulley I6 isdisposed below and to one side of the pulley 64. The newspapers 2 thustravel horizontally into the bite between the conveyor belts 68 and 62,and are' turned upward, around the large pulley 64, toward the pulleys66 and 12. The pulleys 68 and 14, however, are situated to the right of,and above, the pulleys 66 and 12, the pulley I4 being disposed a littleto the left of the pulley 88. The

upper portions of the belt conveyors 88 and 82,

therefore, are disposed below, and at an upward incline to, the bottomof a magazine 18, so as to convey the newspapers successively to theright, after they leave the pulley 88, at an upward incline, toward thepulleys 88 and 14.

Horizontally disposed, continuously traveling, conveyor stackerbelts 88at the bottom of the magazine 18 pass over horizontally alined pulleys82 and 84 at the bottom of the magazine I8. The pulley 82 is disposed onthe same shaft as, so as to be coaxial with, the pulley 88, under themagazine 18. It is not essential that the belts 8 or 88 behorizontal,--they may be inclined under the hopper 8 or the magazine 18at an angle.

The papers are thus carried toward apredetermined point of the bottom ofthe magazine 18, just above the pulley 82, and under the bent portions92 at the left'of a hold-down weight or weights 18, or under therearward projecting ends of the newspapers 2 in the magazine 18, asillustrated in Fig. 1.

The function of the weight 18 is to press the lowest paper 2 against theconveyor belts 88. This function is not needed in the hopper 8, becauseof the weight of the papers 2 that are fed in from above the stack. Inthe magazine 18, however, the papers are fed in by the conveyors 88 and62 from below.

As the first paper 2 is delivered by the conveyor belts 88' and 82,between the pulleys l4 and 82, it travels at the said upward incline,above the said pulleys 88 and 82, the pulley 82 thus serving as a guideroll.

The front edge I of the first newspaper 2 is first gripped between thebody portion of the hold-down weight 18, at the point where it joins thebent portion 92, and the portions of the belts 88 immediately beneath.The said front edge 1 is then dragged in by the conveyor belts 88, underthe said bent end 92 of the hold-down weight 18. The pulley 84 isdisposed beyond the magazine 18, to the right thereof, as viewed in Fig.1, so that the belt conveyor 88 would carry the papers in the magazine18 beyond, and to the right of, the magazine 18, on to a table I48, wereit not for stops 88 that project upward between the stacker belts 88 toengage the forward end of the lower paper or papers 2 in the magazine 18and limit its or their further progress. The stops 88 need not projectvery high, since it is quite sufficient to restrain the travel of onlythe bottom paper 2 in the magazine 18.

As the newspapers 2 continue to be successively advanced by the beltconveyors 88 and 82, the forward end I of each next-following newspaper,as it leaves between the pulleys 14 and 82, enters into the magazine 18at a point between the pulley 82 and under the rear end of the newspaperalready at the bottom of this magazine 18, overhanging, or projectingrearwardly over, the pulley 82, providing a small space for the enteringpaper 2 to pass between the bottom of the stack of papers and the upperreach of the belts 88.

- After the first newspaper 2 has been fed into the magazine I8, it willitself serve as such guide for the next-following newspaper, providedthat the distance of the stop 88 from the uppermost point of the pulley82, at the receiving end of the conveyor I8, is less than the length ofthe newspapers. It need not, however, be a great deal less. Theremaining papers in the magazine, above'the bottom paper 2, will remainin the magazine, because they are protected from the feeding action ofthe belts 88 by the lowermost paper in the stack, which is alone incontact with the belts 88, and they are held in the magazine 18 by thehold-down weight 18.

The newspapers 2 are thus fed into the magazine I8 by the combinedmovements of the lift belts 88 and 82 and the stacker belts 88. Thebends in the newspapers during such feeding are influenced by both thesesets of belts. It is possible to control the bends, therefore, bydifferent arrangements of the belts, and also to have the newspapersleave the belt conveyors 88 and 82 at a downward incline, as explainedin the said application.

The belt conveyors 88 and 82 may be modified by raising the centralbelts of one of them, and correspondingly lowering the central belts ofthe other, with respect to the side belts. The papers 2 will then be fedinto the magazine 18 concaved or convexed and, therefore, stiffer thanwhen fed into the magazine fiat. Such stiffness will prevent thepossibility of the unrestrained sections of the papers buckling in thespace between the guide roll 82 and the bent portions 92 of the holddownweight 14 or the rearwardly projecting, tail ends of the sheets in themagazine. The convexity or the concavity need extend only part way underthe stack at this point.

It is desirable to have the .horizontally disposed conveyor beits 8travel at a higher speed than the inclined conveyor belts 4, but at aslower speed than that of the lift belts 88 and 82 which, in turn,should travel more slowly than the stack belts 88. The papers 2 willthen separate out more rapidly in the hopper 8, and congestion andbuckling of the papers 2, that might be caused by slippage between thebelts and the papers 2, is avoided. Such slippage is particularlypossible in the magazine 18, caused by the drag of the upper papers 2therein on the lowermost paper 2 as it is fed into the magazine 18. Thedesired relative speeds may be produced in any de-- sired manner, asexplained in the said application, from a motor 85 that is supported ina cradle 59. As shown in Fig. 1, the pulleys 32, 88, l2, l4 and 84 areidler pulleys. The desired speeds of the various conveyors may beattained by suitably proportioning the driven pulleys.

The newspapers 2 thus become stacked on the conveyor 88, and the stackin the magazine 18 thus rises higher and higher as the newspapers 2 arethus successively conveyed to the bottom of the magazine andsuccessively fed thereinto, until the desired number of newspapers, asdetermined by the count of the counting finger 44 or the countingfingers 44 and 48, has been collected in the magazine 18. The weight 18rises higher and higher during this accumulation of the papers in themagazine 18, so as always to press down upon the top newspaper in themagazine, thus to press the bottom newspaper in the magazine against theconveyor belts 88 during its feeding into the magazine.

To permit such raising of the weight 18, it is shown, in Figs. 1 and 22,as constituted of one or more fiat bars, having the integral, angularlybent portion 92 at the left, pivoted at 94 to the lower end of a link98, the upper end of which is pivoted to the frame of the machine at 98,above and to the left of the newspaper stack in the magazine 18. In thelowermost position of the weight 18, the link 98 engages a stop I88 tolimit the degree of movement of the link 98 and, therefore, the weight18, to the left. The weight 18 is thus prevented from swinging to theleft, out

aiaaaei of. the magazine 18, when it drops to the bottom of the magazineafter the stack of newspapers therein has been delivered on to thedelivery table 0. In this position,- the bent portion 92 5 serves as aguide for guiding the first newspaper 2, as it is received from theconveyors 6 and 52, in under the holddown weight 16 and above theconveyor 80. Asthe stack of papers 2 in the magazine rises, the weightI6 also rises and, at 10 the same time, moves to the right, asillustrated in Figs. 22 and 23, actuating the link 35 also to the right,away from the stop I00. The' link joint enables. the holddown weight Ito lie flat on the top paper 2 of thestack no matter what the 15 heightof the stack.

It may be desirable to stack the newspapers 2 so that each group oftwenty-five or fifty, or any other desired number of papers, shall havethe folded edges reversed; that is, so that the top 20 twenty fivepapers, for example, in a stack shall have their end and side foldededges facing north and east, respectively, and the next twenty fivepapers shall have those edges facing south and west, the next twentyfive, north and east 5 again, etc. Alternating the papers in this manneris desirable for some purposes; forexample, to facilitate their beingcounted by the persons receiving them, and also to make a more stablestack. This may be effected, according to the 30 present invention, asdescribed and illustrated in the said application. It is preferred,however, to employ the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2'7.

The papers 2 are delivered, before counting, from the left, as viewed inFig. 27, to a belt con- 5 veyor 3. If no papers are in a hopper 339,they are conveyed by the conveyor 3 under a shield wall 5' disposed inthe path of travel of the sheets from the conveyor 3, and on to a beltconveyor 3, which travels at a higher speed than the belt 3. Rolls 40I08 serve a function similar to that of the rolls 33. The conveyor 9eontinuesto receive the papers 2, as they are fed by the conveyor 3, insuperposed relation, until the level of the stack of papers in thehopper 339 is high enough to touch the shield 5 5, as shown. As soon asthe superposed sheets accumulate to the number predetermined by theposition of the lower end of the shield 5, no more sheets will be fedpast the shield 5 until a sheet or sheets has been fed under the shieldII by the 50 conveyor 3. Further accumulation of the sheets in thehopper 333 beyond the said predetermined number is thus prevented at anyone time.

So long as there is a supply of papers on the belt 3, therefore, thelevel in the hopper 333 will 55 be practically constant, and so long asthis level.

- above the conveyor 9. A slight separation will suflice to pass thesheets singly, so that the lower wall of the shield wall ll of thehopper 339 may be disposed very close to the conveyor 9. A table l2,constituted of a plurality of supports disposed 70 between the pluralityof belts of the conveyor 3, is pivoted at |25, so that it may be raisedfrom its normally ineffective position, by a half revolution of a camI05, to the effective position, to close the said opening, or block thesaid space,

75 and to lift the sheets 2 off the belts 9, thus to pre willhereinafter appear, the circuit vent the further feed of the papersunder the shield II by the-conveyor 9. The cam I05, which thus controlsthe feed of the papers below the shield II, is controlled by anelectromagnetic coil 2 2| (shown diagrammatically in Fig. 38) that maybe operated in the same manner as the other electromagnetic coilsillustrated herein, the operation of which is described at considerablelength herein and in the said appli ion. As the coil 22| is controlledin accordance with a modified counting-and-selector mechanism,illustrated in Figs. 28 to 39, so as to effect the upward pivotalmovement of the table |2, thereby to stop the posed belts H and 2|, overa roll 21 disposed at a level above the topmost sheet 2 of the stack,over a guide 39, and on top of a stack 89 on a table 9|, under adownwardly inclined guide 55,

until it strikes an integral bent portion 58 at the end of thedownwardly inclined guide 55. The discharge pulleys or rolls 21 and aroll 3| are attached to the ends of arm members 31.

The guide 55 may be constituted of two guide arms or members, one oneach side of the center of the sheets stacked on the table 3 separatedby a yoke 49, pivoted at 35 to an arm 4|, so as to equalize the pressureexerted by them on the uppermost sheet of the stack engaged by the twoguide members of the guide 55, and each provided with the bent end 53.The bent ends 53 constitute a stop, positioned to the right (as viewedin Fig. 27 and above the predetermined position occupied by the stack ofpapers on the table 3| The papers 2 are fed on to the table 9| fromabove the table 3|, at a downward incline, toward and against the stops58, which stop their further movement, and thus cause them to becomestacked on the table 3|, in engagement with the stops. The sheets areguided, during their feeding movement, on to the stack on the table 3|,by the guide arms of the guide 55. The impact of the papers, passingunder the guide arms of the guide 55, automatically raises themvertically, in accordance with the height of the stack, and, with them,through the yoke l3 and the arm 4|, that connects them to the guide 55,the rolls 2'! and 3| and the arm members by which they are carried. Theupper portions of the conveyors l1 and 2| are thus automatically raisedvertically, in accordance with the height of the stack, to raise thepoint of delivery of the sheets 2 to the stack of sheets on the table3|. The lower pulleys 51 and 53 of the belts l1 and 2|, however, do notchange positions during the vertical movement of the rolls 21 and 3|.The belt 23 extends also over fixed pulleys l5 and 41.

The arm members 31 are provided with wheels (not shown) adapted to rollon a vertical track of a supporting column 42L thus to guide theirvertical movement and the vertical movement of the freely movable rolls21 and 3| by and against the force of gravity. To maintain tension inthe belts 2|, an idler pulley 23 is free to move in a verticallydisposed are at the end of arms pivoted to the frame of the machine atI03. The guide members are maintained on the top-most sheet of the stackby gravity, and to reduce the upward force which the papers must exertin order to lift the guides 55, a counterweight I44 is connected by acord 422, running over pulleys I8I and I29 and attached to the member31. The lowermost positions of the pulleys 21 and 3I and the arm I8Iwith the pulley 23 are indicated by dotted lines.

If the papers are fed forward with a folded end leading, they naturallyarrive on the table 9| in the same way. When the correct number ofpapers, twenty-five as an illustration, have been so fed and stacked onthe table 9|, the table I2 is raised to stop the feed of additionalpapers, the guide 55 is likewise raised, and the table and the stackthereon turned a half revolution, in order to alternate the foldededges, by means of a shaft 95 on which the table 9| is supported. Theguides 55 are then dropped, so as to become restored in effectiveposition, the table I12 is lowered and the feed of the papers isresumed, resulting in a.

reversed position of the newspapers on the stack.

To effect the raising of the guide 55, a lug I58 on one arm of a bellcrank I55 is moved up against the cord 422 upon the downward movement ofthe connecting rod I58 that is connected to the other arm of the bellcrank. The lug I58 is provided with frictional material that bindsfrictionally against the cord 422 as the lug I58 is moved upward, thuspulling the cord 422 upward and to the left, thereby causing the raisingof the guides 55 and the parts attached thereto.

It is now in order to describe the wrapperfeeding, addressing andsevering mechanism.

Referring, first, more particularly to Figs. 1 to 26, the wrapping paperis fed intermittently from a roll or reel of wrapping paper I I8 that ismounted to turn upon a spindle or rod I28, disposed'at the left-handside of the machine, and a little below the magazine 18. From the roll II8, the wrapping-paper web I22 rises substantially vertically to a guideroll I24, over which it passes to the right, over a platen I26 and undera backing plate I28 of the addressing mechanism. As will beexplainedhereinaften'the platen I26 is intermittently moved upward to force theinterposed wrapping-paper web I22 against a type-backed ribbon I38between the web I22 and an address plate 228. Different address plates228 will thus produce different addresses and other insignia upon theweb I22.

At a suitable moment, the portion of the web I22 thus addressed is fedforward, to the right, between feed rolls I32 and I34, the former ofwhich is larger than the latter, and may be constituted of rubber, whilethe latter may be constituted of metal. One revolution of the feed rollI32 about its shaft I33 results in feeding the required length ofwrapper from the reel II8. Such revolution of the feed roll I32 will beproduced after a predetermined degree of rotation of the shaft 385, aswill be explained later. The web I22 is fed between a cutter bed I36 anda cutter roll I38, and, through guides I35 and I3! (Figs. 1 and 2), overto the stacker belts 88, which grips the web under the hold-down weight16 and carrying it forward to the right, stretching it taut. The cutterroll I38 is mounted upon a shaft 233. At the completion of therevolution of the feed roll I32, the cutter roll I38 is actuated, insynchronism with the other movements of the machine parts, to make onerevolution, thereby severing the addressed portion of the web I22 fromthe remainder of the web. The severed portion of the web constitutes awrapper; in the industry, it is often called a snipe".

' ered by the printed wrapper.

Referring, now, to Figs. '21 to 29, the wrapping paper is fedintermittently from a roll or reel of wrapping paper 261 that is mountedto turn upon a spindle or rod I28, disposed at the left-hand side of themachine, and a little below the hopper 339. From the roll 281, thewrapping-paper web I22'rises substantially vertically to a guide roll211, over which it passes to the right, over a platen I26 and under abacking plate 3I3 of the addressing mechanism. As will be explainedhereinafter, the platen I26 is intermittently moved upward to force theinterposed wrappingpaper web I22 against a type-backed ribbon 3 betweenthe web I22 and an address plate 285. Different address plates 285 willthus produce different addresses and OthL. insignia upon the web I22. 1

At a suitable moment, the portion of the web I22 thus addressed is fedforward, to the right, between feed rolls 28I and 288, the former ofwhich is larger than the latter, and may be constituted of rubber, whilethe latter may be constituted of metal. One revolution of the feed roll28I about its shaft 32I results in feeding the required length ofwrapper from the reel 261. Such revolution of the feed roll 28I will beproduced after a predetermined degree of rotation of the shaft 386, aswill be explained later. The web I22 is fed between a cutter bed 289 anda cutter roll 298; and, over a guide 299 (Fig. 29), to the belts 3. Thecutter roll I38 is mounted upon a shaft 233. At the completion of therevolution of the feed roll 28I, the cutter roll 298 is actuated, insynchronism with the other movements of the machine parts, to make onerevolution, thereby severing the addressed wrapper or snipef from theremainder of the web I22.

In the modification of 'Figs. 1 to 26, the wrapper, thus severed, isthereupon pulled into the magazine 18 by the belts 88, into engagementwith the stops 86, and remains there until the first newspaper 2 entersthe magazine 18 under the wrapper. The next-following newspapers arethen fed in under this first newspaper, as before described, the wrapperremaining always at the top of the stack, under the hold-down weight 16.-The name, address and other information relating to the dealer for whomthe stack of newspapers 2 in the magazine 18 is about to be collectedhave previously been printed, as before described, on the upper side ofthe wrapper.

If desired, a secondary wrapper, perhaps of old newspaper, may be placedon the table I48 before the stack is released from the magazine, inorder to cover the portions of the stack not cov- The stack, with theprinted wrapper thereon, would then be delivered on to the secondarywrapper onthe table I48, in the manner presently to be described. Thesecondary wrapper may be deposited on the table I48 by some othermechanism than the belts 88, and this may be effected from a point infront or back-of the table I48, instead of from the left thereof, asviewed in Fig. 1. Such modifled arrangement may have preferences incases where the sizes of the stacks intended for differ ent dealers varyso greatly that different-length wrappers are desirable, in order thatthe wrappers may go completely around the sides and the top of the stackof newspapers. The illustrated embodiment of the invention provides buta single-size wrapper, but it may be desirable to have anintercoordination between the size of the stack and the length ofwrapper feed desired. The table I48 is provided with a verticallydisposed, stop wall I42 for limiting the forward movement of thenewspapers.

After a predetermined number of newspapers 2 have been accumulated inthe magazine 18, as

determined by the counting finger 44, or the counting fingers 44 and 46,further feeding of the newspapers into the magazine I8 willautomatically be stopped, as hereinafter described. The stops 86 willthereupon be freed, whereupon the conveyor 80 will carry the stack ofnewspapers accumulated in. the magazine I8, as a unit, out of themagazine I8 and on to the table I40, or the said secondary orother,wrapper resting thereon. The hold-down weight I6, of course, thenfalls by gravity once more to the bottom of the magazine I8.

The mechanism for freeing the stops 86 is illustrated more particularlyin Figs. 22 to 25. These stops are rigidly attached to a rock shaft I89upon which is mounted a catch I that is normally retained in a recessI43 of an armature I45 of an electromagnet I41, by a spring I39 thatnormally maintains the armature I45 raised, but it may be released inopposition to the action of the spring I39, by thus energizing theelectromagnet I". The catch I normally, therefore, maintains the rockshaft in such position that the stops 86 occupy their effectivepositions, illustrated by full lines in Fig. 22; but the catch I4Ibecomes released when the armature I45 is attracted downward by theelectromagnet I". The belts 80 are then free to move the stacked papers2 in the magazine I8 on to the receiving table I40, and the thrust ofthe stack of newspapers 2 on the moving belts 80 will then actuate thestops 86 from the position of Fig. 22 to the position of Fig. 23, inopposition to the force exerted by a counterweight I5I. Thecounterweight I5'I later returns the stops 86 to their normal positions,illustrated in Fig. 22. In order to absorb the shocks of the movingpapers that strike the stops 86, as they are fed into the magazine I8,at high speed, the mounting of the catch I on the rock shaft I09 isrendered yielding or resilient, through the medium of a resilient insertI53, interposed between the shaft I89 and a collar I5I that surroundsthe shaft I89. The electromagnet is energized by the closing of a brushcontact member (not shown) and a contact member 368 of a multiple-switchmaster controller I49, as hereinafter explained.

During the travel of the wrapper through the magazine 18, of course,there should be no further delivery of newspapers to the conveyor belts00.

So long as the conveyor belts 8 continue to engage the lowermostnewspaper in the hopper 6, the belts 60 and 62 will continue to delivernewspapers to' the magazine I8. Provision is, therefore, made forlifting the stack of newspapers in the hopper 6 up, out of contact withthe belts 8, in synchronism with the movements of the other parts of themachine, when it is desired to stop the further feed of the newspapers2.

To this end, a plurality of bar supports I46, rigidly connected togetherupon a common frame, are normally disposed below, and between, the belts8, as shown more particularly in Fig. 1. In such normal disposition ofthe supports I46, they are ineifective, and do not interfere with thefeeding of the newspapers 2 out of the hopper 6 by the belts 8. Thesupports I46 may, however, become raised, as a unit, up between thebelts 8, into an effective position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, thusperforming a double function:

ing of the desired, predetermined number of papers 2 out of the hopper6, by means of long, parallelly disposed, side rods I06. The separatingroll 38 is raised simultaneously with the raising .of the table I46, asis also illustrated in Fig. 8,

to reduce-the friction upon any newspaper 2 that may happento becomeclamped, part way out of the hopper 6, between the table I46 and thefinger l6 at the bottom of the shield I0, thus to prevent damaging theclamped newspapers.

The cycle of operations is controlled by the counting finger or fingers.As a newspaper 2 travels from right to left, its forward, folded end Ifirst engages the counting finger 44, thus pivotally actuating it abouta pivot I 56 toward the left and raising it above a plate I52, uponwhich it and the finger 46 normally rests. As the newspaper 2 continuesits travel toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, its forward, folded endI engages, the next moment, the counting finger 46, raising it pivotallyabout a pivot I54. Though two pivots I54 and I56 are illustrated, thecounting fingers 44 and 46 may be pivoted about a common axis (notshown) by which the counting fingers may be carried. When the rear endof the paper 2 rides further forward, away from the contact finger 44,the latter again drops off the rear edge of the paper 2, into the space42 between successive papers 2; and when the paper 2 travels stillfurther forward, away from under the counting finger 46, the latter thenalso falls into the said space 42. The same result takes place when thenewspapers travel overlapped. This operation results in counting thepapers, as described in the said application, by means of contactmembers I64 and I65, shown in Fig. 25.

One function of the plate I52 is'to prevent sagging of the belts 8 thattravel over the plate I52 and under the counting fingers 4 4 and 46. Itserves also as a stop for the counting fingers.

The movement of the contact fingers 44 and 46 serves to close anelectric circuit for actuating a counter. Each time that the circuit isclosed, the counter is actuated to register a count. The countingfingers 44 and 46 are thus pivotally moved, in succession, by thenewspapers 2, to control the actuation of the counter.

The contact members I64 and I 66 are connected to the outside circuitthrough metal springs I94 and I96, respectively, which also serve tohold the counting fingers 46 and 44, respectively, in their lowestpositions. The spring I94 is fastened at one end to the contact arm I64and one end of the spring I96 is similarly fastened to the contact armI66. V r

The circuit connections will be understood from the circuit diagram ofFig. taken in conjunction with the apparatus illustrated moreparticularly in Figs. 10 and 12. The contact member I64 is connected byway of the spring I94 and a conductor 200 to one side of the coil of thecounter magnet 202, and the contact member I66 is similarly connected byway of the spring I96 and a conductor 204, by way of other connectionsthat will be described hereinafter,- to the other

